Ladislas Starevich (, ; August 8, 1882 – February 26, 1965) was a Polish-

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

notable as the author of the first

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

-animated film '' The Beautiful Leukanida'' (1912). He also used dead

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and other

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

s as protagonists of his films. Following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, Starevich settled in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Early career

Władysław Starewicz was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to ethnic PolishRay Harryhausen. Tony Dalton. ''A Century of Model Animation: From Méliès to Aardman''. 2008. Watson-Guptill. p. 44. parents from present-day

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. His father, Aleksander Starewicz, was from Surviliškis near

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

and his mother, Antonina Legęcka, from

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. Both belonged to lesser nobility and were in hiding after the failed

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

against the Tsarist Russian domination. Due to his mother's death, he was raised by his grandmother in Kaunas, then the capital of Kaunas Governorate within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He attended Gymnasium in Dorpat (today

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

), where he worked painting postcards and illustrations for local magazines. Starewicz pursued an artistic career despite the protest of his family, and enrolled in a painting school. Starewicz had interests in a number of different areas; by 1910 he was named Director of the Museum of Natural History in

. There he made four short live-action documentaries for the museum. For the fifth film, Starewicz wished to record the battle of two

stag beetles Stag beetles comprise the family Lucanidae. It has about 1,200 species of beetles in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a c ...

, but was stymied by the fact that the nocturnal creatures stopped moving or died due to the heat whenever the stage

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

was turned on. Inspired by a viewing of ''Les allumettes animées'' nimated Matches(1908) by Arthur Melbourne Cooper, Starewicz decided to re-create the fight through stop-motion animation: by replacing the beetles' legs with wire, attached with sealing wax to their thorax, he is able to create articulated insect puppets. The result was the short film ''Lucanus Cervus'' (1910), apparently the first animated puppet film and the natal hour of

Russian animation The history of Russian animation is the visual art form produced by Russian animation makers. As most of Russia's production of animation for film, cinema and television were created during Soviet Union, Soviet times, it may also be referred to som ...

. In 1911, Starewicz moved to Moscow and began work with the film company of

Aleksandr Khanzhonkov Aleksandr Alekseevich Khanzhonkov ( rus, Александр Алексеевич Ханжонков, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ xənˈʐonkəf; — 26 September 1945) was a pioneering Russian Empire, Russian''Peter Rollberg (2016) ...

. There he made two dozen films, most of them puppet animations using dead animals. Of these, '' The Beautiful Leukanida'' (premiere – 1912), first puppet film with a

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the connected story elements of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 ...

inspired in the story of

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

and

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; ) was a Greek king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', the Trojan war began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen, fleeing to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus was a central ...

, earned international acclaim (one British reviewer thought the stars were live trained insects), while '' The Grasshopper and the Ant'' (1913) got Starewicz decorated by the

czar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

. But the best-known film of this period was '' The Cameraman's Revenge'' (1912), a cynical work about infidelity and jealousy among the insects. Some of the films made for Khanzhonkov feature

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

/animation interaction. In some cases, the live action consisted of footage of Starewicz's daughter Irina. Particularly worthy of note is Starevich's 41-minute 1913 film ''

The Night Before Christmas "A Visit from St. Nicholas", routinely referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. A ...

'', an adaptation of the

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

story of the same name. The 1913 film ''Terrible Vengeance'' won the Gold Medal at an international festival in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1914, being just one of five films which won awards among 1005 contestants. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Starewicz worked for several film companies, directing 60 live-action features, some of which were fairly successful. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

of 1917, the film community largely sided with the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

and moved from Moscow to

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. After a brief stay, Starewicz and his family fled before the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

could capture the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, stopping in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for a while before joining the Russian émigrés in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

After World War I

At this time, Władysław Starewicz changed his name to Ladislas Starevich, as it was easier to pronounce in French. He first established his family in

Joinville-le-Pont Joinville-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur (literally "The Branch of Saint-Mau ...

, while he worked as a cameraman there. He rapidly returned to make puppet films. He made ''Le mariage de Babylas'' (''Midnight Wedding''), ''L'épouvantail'' (''The Scarecrow'', 1921 ), ''Les grenouilles qui demandent un roi'' (alternately called ''Frogland'' and ''The Frogs Who Wanted a King'', 1922), ''Amour noir et blanc'' (''Love in Black and White'', 1923), ''La voix du rossignol'' (''The Voice of the Nightingale'', 1923) and ''La petite chateuse des rues'' (''The Little Street Singer'', 1924). His family worked with him to produce these films. These were his daughter Irina (who had changed her name to Irène) who collaborated in all his films and defended his rights, his wife Anna Zimermann, who made the costumes for the puppets and Jeanne Starewitch (aka Nina Star) who acted in some of the films (''The Little Street Singer'', ''The Queen of the Butterflies'', ''The Voice of the Nightingale'', ''The Magical clock'', and others) In 1924, Starevich moved to

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the spring ...

, where he lived until his death in 1965. There he made the rest of his films. Among the most notable are ''The Eyes of the Dragon'' (1925), a Chinese tale with complex and wonderful sets and character design, in which Starevich shows his talent as an artist and in set decoration as well as ingenious trick photography, ''The Town Rat and the Country Rat'' (1927), a parody of American slapstick films, ''The Magical Clock'' (1928), a fairy tale with amazing middle-age puppets and sets, starring Nina Star with music by

Paul Dessau Paul Dessau (19 December 189428 June 1979) was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. Biography Dessau was born in Hamburg into a m ...

, ''The Little Parade'', from H.C. Andersen's tale ''

The Steadfast Tin Soldier "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 October 1838 in the first booklet of ''Fair ...

''. Six weeks after the premiere of ''The Little Parade'', sound was added by

Louis Nalpas Louis Nalpas (1884–1948) was a Greek-French film producer. He was a leading producer during the silent era, and was employed by the large French studio Pathé.:30 He was behind the company's construction of the Victorine Studios in Nice in 192 ...

' company. Starevich started a collaboration with him, wishing to make a feature full-length film: ''Le Roman de Renard''. All his 1920s films are available on DVD.

"Le Roman de Renard"

Often mentioned as being among his best work, '' The Tale of the Fox'' (, ) was also his first animated feature. It was entirely made by Starevich and his daughter, Irène. Production took place in Fontenay-sous-Bois from 1929 to 1930. When the film was ready, the producer, Louis Nalpas, decided to add sound using disc support but this system failed and the film was not released. The German film studio UFA became interested in showing the film in two parts. Sound was added in German and it premiered in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. Later, in 1941,

Roger Richebé Roger Richebé (3 December 1897 – 10 July 1989), born Roger Gustave Richebé, was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was born in Marseille and died in Ville-d'Avray. Selected filmography * ' (1930) (producer) * '' La donn ...

(Paris Cinéma Location) produced a French sound version, which premiered in April 1941. It was the third animated

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

to have sound, after

Quirino Cristiani Quirino Cristiani (2 July 1896 – 2 August 1984) was an Italian-born Argentine animation director and cartoonist, responsible for the world's first two animated feature films as well as the first animated feature film with sound, even though the ...

's ''

Peludópolis ''Peludópolis'' is a 1931 Argentine animated film directed by Quirino Cristiani. It was released on 18 September 1931 in Buenos Aires. The film was released with a Vitaphone sound-on-disc synchronization system soundtrack, making the film genera ...

'' (

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

) and ''

The New Gulliver ''The New Gulliver'' (, ''Novyy Gullivyer'') is a Soviet stop motion-animated cartoon, and the first to make such extensive use of puppet animation, running almost all the way through the film (it begins and ends with short live-action sequences). ...

'' (

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

) from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

The "Fétiche" series (Mascot)

In 1933 Ladislas and Irene Starevich produced and directed a film of about 1000 meters, initially titled ''LS 18''. Under pressure from distributors, the length was greatly reduced. It became the film ''Fétiche Mascotte'' (''The Mascot''), about 600 meters, distributed in 1934. Starevich had a contract with Marc Gelbart (Gelma Films) to make a series with this character. Twelve episodes were planned, but for economic reasons, only five were made between 1934 and 1937 and distributed worldwide. These are ''Fétiche prestidigitateur'' (''The Ringmaster'', 1934), ''Fétiche se marie'' (''The Mascot's Wedding'', 1935), ''Fétiche en voyage de noces'' (''The Navigator'', 1936) and ''Fétiche et les sirènes'' (''The Mascot and the Mermaids'', 1937) which was not released because sound could not be added. There is an unfinished film, ''Fétiche père de famille'' (''The Mascot and His Family'', 1938). In 1954, L. Starevich conceived ''The Hangover'', using images not included in ''The Mascot''. A reconstruction of the original ''LS 18'' was produced by 2012.

During World War II

During this period (1937–1946), Starevich ceased producing films. He had expressed some intent to make commercial films, but none are known to have been produced during the war.

After World War II

In 1946 he tried to make ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' but abandoned the project due to financial problems. The following year, he made ''Zanzabelle a Paris'' adapted from a story by Sonika Bo. The script and direction of this film are credited to Irène. In 1949, he met

Alexandre Kamenka Alexandre Kamenka (8 May 1888 – 3 December 1969) was a Russian-born French film producer. He was born the son of Boris Kamenka in Odessa, now in Ukraine. At that time the city was part of the Russian Empire. He fled following the Russian Revo ...

(Alkam Films), an old Russian friend, who produced Starevich's first colour film ''Fleur de fougère'' (''Fern Flower''). It was based on an

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

an story, in which a child goes to the forest to collect a fern flower, which grows during the night of Saint-Jean, and makes wishes come true. In 1950, ''Fern Flower'' won the first prize as an animated film in the 11th International Children Film Festival in Venice Biennale. Then he started a collaboration with Sonika Bo to adapt another of her stories, ''Gazouilly petit oiseau'', followed by ''Un dimanche de Gazouillis'' (Gazouillis's Sunday picnic). Again produced by Alkam films, Starevich made ''Nose to Wind'', which tells the adventures of Patapouf, a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

who escapes from school to play with his friends the

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

and the

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. The same year, 1958, his wife Anna died. Due to the success of the previous film, ''Winter Carousel'' was made, starring the bear Patapouf and the rabbit going through seasons. This was his last completed film. All his family co-labored on it, as remembers his granddaughter Martin-Starewitch, whose hands can be seen in animation tests from ''Like Dog and Cat'', Starevich's unfinished film. Ladislas Starevich died on February 26, 1965, while working on ''Comme chien et chat'' (''Like Dog and Cat''). He was one of the few European animators to be known by name in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

before the 1960s, largely on account of ''La Voix du rossignol'' and ''Fétiche Mascotte'' (''The Tale of the Fox'' was not widely distributed in the US). His Russian films were known for their

dark humor Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

. He kept every puppet he made, so stars in one film tended to turn up as supporting characters in later works (the frogs from ''The Frogs Who Wanted a King'' are the oldest of these). For example, in ''Fétiche mascotte'' (1933) the viewer can see puppets from ''The Scarecrow'', ''The Little Parade'', and ''The Magical Clock''. The films have shown incredible imagination and also development of techniques including motion blur, replacement animation, multiple frame exposure, and reverse shooting.

Posterity

Since 1991, Leona Beatrice Martin-Starewitch, Ladislas Starevich's granddaughter and her husband, François Martin, have restored and distributed her grandfather's films. Filmmaker

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

ranked ''The Mascot'' among the ten best animated movies of all time. In 2005, Xavier Kawa-Topor and Jean Rubak joined three Starevich short films together to make a feature film, with music by Jean-Marie Senia. The film, entitled ''Tales of the Magical Clock'', contributed to recognition by the press and the public of Starewitch Engineering. In 2009,

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

paid homage to ''Le Roman de Renard'' in '' Fantastic Mr. Fox''. In 2012 a full reconstruction of ''LS18'' to the original length and content of 1933 had been reconstructed, called ''Fetish 33-12''. This was done by Léona Béatrice Martin-Starewitch, his granddaughter, and her husband, François Martin, owners of the rights to the films made by Starevich and his family. The reconstruction used multiple original copies of "The Mascot" (distributed in the United Kingdom and the United States of America), a negative of ''The Hangover'' and material from the archives of Ladislas Starevich. In 2014, the town of Fontenay-sous-Bois and service Documentation Archive with the family Martin-Starewich organized projections of Ladislas Starewich films in municipal Kosmos cinema with the release of all the preserved films, more than 7 hours on two projection days.

Filmography

Films directed in Kaunas (1909–1910)

(with original titles in Polish) * Nad Niemnem (1909) – ''Beyond the River Nemunas'' * Życie ważek (1909) – ''The Life of the Dragonflies'' * Walka żuków (1909) – ''The Battle of the Stag Beetles'' * Piękna Lukanida (1910) – ''The Beautiful Leukanida'' These films except for ''The Beautiful Leukanida'' are currently considered lost.

Films directed in Russia (1911–1918)

(with original titles in Russian) *

Lucanus Cervus ''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near T ...

(1910) – ''Lucanus Cervus'' * Rozhdyestvo Obitatelei Lyesa (1911) – ''The Insects' Christmas'' * Aviacionnaya Nedelya Nasekomykh (1912) – ''Insects' Aviation Week'' * Strashnaia Myest (1912) – ''The Terrible Vengeance'' * Noch' Pered Rozhdestvom (1912) – ''

'' * Veselye Scenki Iz Zhizni Zhivotnykh (1912) – ''Amusing Scenes from the Life of Insects'' * Miest Kinomatograficheskovo Operatora (1912) – '' The Cameraman's Revenge'' * Puteshestvie Na Lunu (1912) – ''A Journey to the Moon'' * Ruslan I Ludmilla. (1913) – ''Ruslan and Ludmilla'' * Strekoza I Muravei (1913) – '' The Grasshopper and the Ant'' * Snegurochka (1914) – ''The Snow Maiden'' * Pasynok Marsa (1914) – ''Mars's Stepson'' * Kayser-Gogiel-Mogiel (1914) – ''Gogel-Mogel General'' * Troika (1914) – ''Troika'' * Fleurs Fanees 1914 – ''Faded Flowers'' * Le Chant Du Bagnard (1915) – ''The Convict's Song'' * Portret (1915) (May Be Produced By The Skobeliew Committee) – ''The Portrait'' * Liliya Bel'gii (1915) – ''The Lily of Belgium'' * Eto Tyebye Prinadlezhit (1915) – ''It's Fine for You'' * Eros I Psyche (1915) – ''Eros and Psyche'' * Dvye Vstryechi (1916) – ''Two Meetings'' * Le Faune En Laisse (1916) – ''The Chained Faun'' * O Chom Shumielo Morie (1916) – ''The Murmuring Sea'' * Taman (1916) – ''Taman'' * Na Varshavskom Trakte (1916) – ''On the Warsaw Highway'' *

Pan Twardowski Pan Twardowski (Polish: ''Pan Twardowski'' ), also known as Master Twardowski (Polish: ''Mistrz Twardowski''), is a sorcerer in Polish folklore and literature who made a deal with the Devil. Twardowski sold his soul in exchange for special powers ...

(1917) – ''Mister Twardowski'' * Sashka-Naezdnik (1917) – ''Sashka the Horseman'' * K Narodnoi Vlasti (1917) – ''Towards People's Power'' * Kaliostro (1918) – ''Cagliostro'' * Yola (1918) – ''Iola'' * Wij (1918) – ''Vij'' * Sorotchinskaia Yarmaka (1918) – ''The Sorotchninsk Fair'' * Maiskaya Noch (1918) – ''May Night'' * Stella Maris (1918) – ''Starfish''

Films directed in France (1920–1965)

(with original titles in French) * Dans les Griffes de L'araignée (1920) – ''In The Claws of the Spider'' * Le Mariage de Babylas (1921) – ''Babylas's Marriage'' * L’épouvantail (1921) – ''The Scarecrow'' * Les Grenouilles qui Demandent un Roi (1922) – ''Frogland'' * La Voix du Rossignol (1923) – ''The Voice of the Nightingale'' * Amour Noir et Blanc (1923) – ''Love In Black and White'' * La Petite Chanteuse des Rues (1924) – ''The Little Street Singer'' * Les Yeux du Dragon (1925) – ''The Eyes of the Dragon'' * Le Rat de Ville et le Rat Des Champs (1926) – ''The Town Rat and the Country Rat'' * La Cigale et la Fourmi (1927) – ''The Ant and the Grasshopper'' * La Reine des Papillons (1927) – ''The Queen of the Butterflies'' * L'horloge Magique (1928) – ''The Magic Clock'' * La Petite Parade (1928) – ''The Little Parade'' * Le Lion et le Moucheron (1932) – ''The Lion and the Fly'' * Le Lion Devenu Vieux (1932) – ''The Old Lion'' * Fétiche Mascotte (1933) – ''The Mascot'' * Fétiche Prestidigitateur (1934) – ''The Ringmaster'' * Fétiche se Marie (1935) – ''The Mascot's Marriage'' * Fétiche en Voyage De Noces (1936) – ''The Navigator'' * Fétiche Chez les Sirènes (1937) – ''The Mascot and the Mermaids'' * Le Roman de Renard (1930–1939) – ''The Tale of the Fox'' * Zanzabelle a Paris (1947) – ''Zanzabelle in Paris'' * Fleur de Fougère (1949) – ''Fern Flowers'' * Gazouilly Petit Oiseau (1953) – ''Little Bird Gazouilly'' * Gueule de Bois (1954) – ''Hangover'' * Un Dimanche de Gazouilly (1955) – ''Gazouilly's Sunday Picnic'' * Nez au Vent (1956) – ''Nose to the Wind'' * Carrousel Boréal (1958) – ''Winter Carousel'' * Comme Chien et Chat (1965) – ''Like Dog and Cat'' A documentary about Starevich called ''The Bug Trainer'' was made in 2008.

DVD Editions

* ''Le monde magique de Ladislas Starewitch'', Doriane Films, 2000. Content: ''The Old Lion'', ''The Town Rat and the Country Rat'' (1932 sound version) ''The mascot'' and ''Fern Flowers''. Bonus: ''The Town Rat and the Country Rat'' (1926 silent version) * ''Le Roman de Renard'' (The Tale of the Fox), Doriane Films, 2005. Bonus: ''The Navigator'' * ''Les Contes de l'horloge magique'', Éditions Montparnasse, 2005. Content: ''The Little Street Singer'', ''The Little Parade'' and ''The Magic Clock''. * ''The Cameraman's Revenge and Other Fantastic Tales'', Milestone, Image Entertainment, 2005 Content: ''The Cameraman's Revenge'', ''The Insect's Christmas'', ''The Frogs who Wanted a King'' (short version), ''The Voice of the Nightingale'', ''The Mascot'' and ''Winter Carrousel''. * ''Les Fables de Starewitch d'aprés la Fontaine'', Doriane Films, 2011. Content: ''The Lion and the Fly'', ''The Town Rat and the Country Rat'' (1926), ''The Frogs who Wanted a King'' (original version), ''The Ant and the Grasshopper'' (1927 version), ''The Old Lion'' and ''Comment naît et s'anime une ciné-marionnette'' (How Cinema-Marionnettes Are Born and Brought to Life). Bonus: ''The Old Lion'' (French narrated version) and ''The Town Rat and the Country Rat'' (1932 version) * ''Nina Star'', Doriane Films, 2013. Content: ''The Scarecrow'', ''The Babylas's Wedding'', ''The Voice of the Nightingale'', ''The Queen of the Butterflies''. Bonus: ''The Babylas's Wedding'' (tinted colours), ''The Queen of the Butterflies'' (United Kingdom version), ''Comment naît et s'anime une ciné-marionnette''. * ''L'homme des confins'', Doriane Films, 2013. Content: ''In the Spider's Claws'', ''The Eyes of the Dragon'', ''Love Black and White'' Bonus: ''The Eyes of the Dragon'' (1932 sound version), ''Love Black and White'' (1932 sound version), ''Comment naît et s'anime une ciné-marionnette'' * ''Fétiche 33-12'', Doriane Films, 2013 Bonus: ''The Mascot'', ''Gueule de bois'', ''Comment naît et s'anime une ciné marionnette''.

Notes

References

* Donald Crafton; ''Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898–1928''; University of Chicago Press; (2nd edition, paperback, 1993) * Giannalberto Bendazzi (Anna Taraboletti-Segre, translator); ''Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation''; Indiana University Press; (reprint, paperback, 2001) * Liner notes to the DVD ''The Cameraman's Revenge and Other Fantastic Tales''

External links

Starewitch official homepage
– made by his granddaughter
The Cameraman's Revenge
can be viewed at the Internet Archive
Fétiche Mascotte (1934)
at the Internet Archive

– part of "Animation Heaven and Hell", by Tim Fitzpatrick. Website also includes a few video clips. *
Entomology and Animation: A Portrait of an Early Master Ladislaw Starewicz
(May 2000 6-page article from Animation World Magazine)

(view some of his early films) *
Biography
(with many pictures)
creative documentary "The Bug Trainer" about L. Starewitch
*

Abril de 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Starevich, Ladislas 1882 births 1965 deaths Mass media people from Moscow French animators French people of Polish descent History of animation Russian animated film directors Russian animated film producers Russian male artists People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent People who emigrated to escape Bolshevism Stop motion animators Russian film directors Articles containing video clips White Russian emigrants to Italy White Russian emigrants to France 20th-century French inventors